OTHERS SAY

Mainland China makes trouble

Asia is 13 years into the 21st Century, but the conflicts of the 20th and 19th Centuries are anything but history. Last week, China imposed air-traffic rules for a section of the East China Sea that includes a set of barren islands taken from it by Japan in 1895.

That step induced a reaction not only from Japan but from the United States, whose defense treaty with Tokyo was an outgrowth of its victory in World War II. The Pentagon sent a couple of B-52s over the islands while pointedly refusing to notify Beijing, a signal that the U.S. is not giving up its position as the premier military power in the Pacific.

Those in power in the two capitals don’t want to resort to hostilities. Unfortunately, they also don’t want to relinquish their claims to any territory, no matter how outwardly insignificant it may be. So each side feels obliged to rattle sabers to make sure everyone knows they will fight if necessary.

Washington has long declined to take a position on the ultimate resolution of the disagreement over these islands. But Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has said that they are covered by the mutual defense treaty. In other words, if the Chinese elect to use military force, they will invite war with the U.S.

China’s desire for an Air Defense Identification Zone is not inherently outrageous.Japan and South Korea already have their own. The U.S. has its own as well, extending out from our coastlines. But Beijing’s sudden, unexpected muscle flexing in a disputed area suggests aggressive designs that can’t be ignored.

It isn’t about to start a shooting war, though. The more plausible danger is that as Japan and China will engage in more military patrols in the area, they increase the possibility of miscalculations and accidents that could lead to bloodshed.

Editorial, Pages 14 on 12/06/2013

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